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Koom Valley Rules
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<h1 class="title">Classic Rules</h1></TD></tr><tr><td class="maintext">
<p style="font-style : italic;">Copyright 2004/2005 Terry Pratchett,
Trevor Truran and Bernard Pearson<br>
No part of these rules, game plans or designs can be reproduced in any
form without the express permission of the copyright holders.</p>
<h1>A Game</h1>
<p>Thud is unusual in that a game consists of two battles - if
you
command the dwarfs in the first battle then you'll be in charge of the
trolls in the second. At the end of each battle, points are scored by
the winning player and the result of the game is decided by combining
the results of both battles. So if you have a disastrous first battle,
all is not yet lost. In the second battle you may get your revenge with
an even more convincing win.</p>
<div id="left"><img src="images/board.gif" alt="Koom Valley Thud Board" height="100" width="186">
<p><strong>Pieces starting<br>
positions</strong></p>
</div>
<p>(From now on the words dwarfs and trolls will include both the
pieces themselves and the human player controlling them.)</p>
<h1>Moves</h1>
<p><strong>Dwarfs</strong> have the first move in each battle.</p>
<p>A dwarf, being small and fast, can dash around any distance in
a straight line (forwards, backwards, sideways and diagonally).</p>
<p>As trolls can't see anything directly under their kneecaps, a
dwarf
can end its move on a square next to a troll without being instantly
captured. This may seem a suicidally daft thing to do, but it is often
actually a brilliant tactic, since the troll will have to move to
capture the dwarf and that may spoil the trolls' other attacking plans.</p>
<p>A TROLL lumbers about, moving one square in any direction
(forwards,
backwards, sideways and diagonally). Since dwarfs are heavily armoured
and trolls are solid rock - no piece can pass through a square
containing any other piece. Nor can any piece land on, or jump over,
the central rock. This rock, by the way, cannot be moved nor does it
'belong' to either player - but it can play a vital part in the battle.</p>
<h1>Capture</h1>
<p>A Troll captures dwarfs by moving next to them and thumping
them on
the helmet with its club. Captured dwarfs are carted off the
battleground with their ears ringing. Dwarfs can only overpower their
much bigger enemy by forming a line and hurling the front dwarf
straight at a troll and walloping it in the midriff. This causes the
troll to lose interest in proceedings and it leaves the arena for a
long lie-down until the next battle.</p>
<p>Capturing is not compulsory.<br>
Captures are made in straight lines - including diagonally.</p>
<h1>Captures by the Trolls</h1>
<p>A troll captures one or more dwarfs by moving to a square next
to it (them).<br>
There are up to eight squares next to the square the troll is on. The
troll must move to make a capture; it cannot simply demolish a dwarf
already next to it.</p>
<h1>Shoving</h1>
<p>Trolls can also make captures by forming an unbroken line of
trolls.
Instead of an ordinary move, the front troll is shoved in the back by
the rest in the line, who remain where they are. The shoved troll moves
directly forward as many squares (or fewer) as there were trolls in the
line.<br>
A troll can only be shoved to make a capture. It cannot use the shove
as an ordinary move. Remember, that trolls capture by landing on the
square next to one or more dwarfs. They do not land on the square a
dwarf is occupying. Don't forget that the shove can be made to capture
a dwarf that is not directly facing the troll along the line of attack.
The troll simply has to land next to the dwarf to capture, so it can
sidle up to one or more dwarfs and merrily swing its club.</p>
<h1>Captures by Dwarfs</h1>
<p>A Dwarf captures by having a straight, unbroken, line of
dwarfs
aimed at a troll and hurling the front dwarf straight ahead to hit the
troll. The troll is removed and the dwarf occupies its square. BUT, the
attack can only be made if the distance in squares in between the front
dwarf and the troll's square is less than the number of dwarfs making
up the line.</p>
<p>So, for example, 4 dwarfs can attack a troll if there are 0,
1, 2,
or 3 empty squares between the front dwarf and the troll. Dwarfs cannot
have an ordinary move and capture in the same turn. Just as the trolls
cannot shove without making a capture, so the dwarfs can only launch
the front chap of a line if he will then make a capture.</p>
<p>(Note: 1 lone dwarf can form a line of 1 by moving to a square
adjacent to a troll then hurling himself and capture a troll in this
way. He can't move and capture on the same move, though, but must wait
for his next move assuming the troll hasn't captured him by then.)<br>
<br>
</p>
<p><strong>Remember:</strong> shoving and hurling
captures can be made in any straight line, including diagonally.</p>
<h1>End of the Battle</h1>
<p>When the players <em>agree</em> that it is clear
that no further
captures can be made then the battle is ended. If they cannot agree,
the battle continues until agreement is reached. The decision to end a
battle or to continue playing is a vital part of the game. Having
agreed to end the battle, the points scored by each player is then
calculated according to the number of pieces each has left on the board.</p>
<h1>The Result of the Battle</h1>
<p>Each Dwarf counts as one point. Each Troll counts as four
points.
The winning margin is the difference between the players' scores.</p>
<p>If the game ends with five dwarfs and two trolls the scores
are:</p>
<p>Dwarfs 5 - Trolls 8 (2x4)<br>
The player commanding the trolls would win by three (8-5).</p>
<p>If there were five dwarfs and one troll, the player commanding
the dwarfs would win by one.</p>
<p>If both players have the same number of points, then the
battle is drawn and no points are scored.</p>
<p>The result of the first battle is noted and carried forward by
that
player into the second battle. In this second battle, the players must
change roles - the commander of the dwarfs becomes the commander of the
trolls and vice versa.</p>
<h1>The Result of the Game</h1>
<p>The player with the higher number of points over the two
battles is
the winner of the game and the difference in the players' points is the
winning margin. If the player who was dwarfs in the first battle won
that battle by three points and then lost the second battle (playing
trolls) by seven points then that player would lose the game by 7-3 = 4
points.</p>
<p>The game can only be a draw if both players end up with the
same number of points.</p>
<h1>The First Few Games</h1>
<p>Because the game relies on the players developing skills at
handling
two different forces with different moves and methods of capture, it is
likely that early games may be one-sided affairs. It will take longer
to work out how to successfully manipulate the cunning dwarfs than it
does to command simpler and apparently all-powerful trolls. As tactics
are developed and battle plans formed, so the games will become
closer-fought and take longer and the dwarfs will realize that in Thud
there is a battle they can win.</p>
<h1>Dwarf Development</h1>
<p>The commander of the dwarf army has to be single-mindedly
devoted to
one aim - the formation of a solid block of dwarfs. He/she will
willingly sacrifice dwarfs, or act the coward and run away, to achieve
just one outcome from the first part of the game - a BLOCK of dwarfs
that can hold off a threat from any direction.</p>
<p>This outcome will only be achieved by sacrifice - dwarfs must
be
cheerfully thrown forward into the path of an advancing troll as a
doomed 'forlorn hope' for the greater good of the phalanx that is
forming behind.</p>
<p>The main advantage possessed by the dwarfs is mobility -
dwarfs can
dash about and rapidly shift the emphasis from one region of the board
to another.</p>
<p>Though a line of dwarfs can attack a troll, it is a relatively
direct and simple matter to avoid the attack. So trolls are not likely
to be beaten by a series of single-line attacks.</p>
<p>Without forming a block, dwarfs will be picked off and
decimated by
their more powerful opponent. For dwarfs, unity is strength. Once that
block is formed it can be carefully moved across the board to isolate
individual trolls - capturing each in turn for loss of only one dwarf
or two will gain points for the dwarf commander.</p>
<h1>Going Clubbing</h1>
<p>Commanding the trolls is a much simpler affair. The choices
are: </p>
<ol>
<li> To form shoving lines and capture as many dwarfs as
possible by the time the dwarf army has become a solid block.</li>
<li> To attack the dwarfs' block while it is still small and
prevent it from gaining strength.</li>
<li>A mixture of the two.</li>
</ol>
<p>Once the dwarfs have formed a block, it becomes difficult for
the
trolls to make any more gains, so they need to be as far ahead on
points as possible before the dwarfs go on the offensive.</p>
<p>For further hints, tips and information about getting your own
game set visit our <a href="https://www.thudgame.com/shop">Thudgame
Emporium</a></p>
<hr>
<p style="font-weight: bold;">Rules taken from: <a href="http://thudgame.com/rules" target="_blank">http://thudgame.com/rules</a></p>
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